Tests have been sent to a laboratory in Spain. Grama said infected animals should be killed and burned, the area disinfected, and animals should not be raised within 30 kilometers (19 miles) for one year.

]]>Kroger expects to earn less this year on falling priceshttp://www.capitalpress.com/Stocks/20160909/kroger-expects-to-earn-less-this-year-on-falling-prices
http://www.capitalpress.com/Stocks/20160909/kroger-expects-to-earn-less-this-year-on-falling-prices#CommentsFri, 9 Sep 2016 11:14:01 -0500http://www.capitalpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2016160909869CINCINNATI (AP) — Kroger’s profit in its second quarter fell nearly 12 percent as it made changes to its employee pensions.

The supermarket operator also said Friday that it was hurt by falling prices of eggs, meats and other products, forcing it to lower its earnings guidance for the year.

Shares of Kroger Co. slipped almost 2 percent before the stock market opened Friday.

Kroger Chief Financial Officer Mike Schlotman told business news channel CNBC Friday that the drop in prices for eggs, meats and milk have affected the price of ice cream and other products that use those ingredients.

The company, based in Cincinnati, has nearly 2,800 grocery stores around the country, including its namesake Kroger, Ralphs and Dillons.

Kroger reported second-quarter net income of $383 million, or 40 cents per share, in the second quarter, compared with $433 million, or 44 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 47 cents per share, beating Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 45 cents per share.

Kroger said it now expects earnings for the year between $2.10 per share and $2.20 per share, compared with its previous forecast between $2.19 per share and $2.28 per share. Analysts expected earnings of $2.20 per share, according to FactSet.

]]>Activist investor Ackman buys 10 percent of Chipotlehttp://www.capitalpress.com/Stocks/20160907/activist-investor-ackman-buys-10-percent-of-chipotle
http://www.capitalpress.com/Stocks/20160907/activist-investor-ackman-buys-10-percent-of-chipotle#CommentsWed, 7 Sep 2016 08:53:33 -0500http://www.capitalpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2016160909921NEW YORK (AP) — Chipotle shares, under siege after a series of food scares erupted just over a year ago, surged at the opening bell after activist investor Bill Ackman revealed that he’s become the taco chain’s second largest investor.

Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP has amassed a 9.9 percent stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Shares jumped 5 percent in early trading Wednesday.

After taking a major stake, Ackman has in the past shaken up the leadership of ailing companies, and that is what Chipotle has become since the first outbreak of E. coli last year.

Shares that hit an all-time high close to $760 last summer, have almost been cut in half.

The company has been trying to win back customers after restaurants in multiple states were hit with norovirus, salmonella and E. coli cases, sickening hundreds and dashing its reputation as a place to eat fresh.

It has made changes in the preparation of food that, because it is unprocessed, may have made it more susceptible to impurities.

Chipotle, based in Denver, distributed millions of coupons for free food, and last month gave away free kid’s meals on Sunday.

If the arrival of Ackman changes Chipotle’s trajectory, it could mark the end of a bad spell for both.

Ackman’s Pershing Square became a huge backer Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a drug company whose shares have plunged almost 90 percent over the past year under multiple federal and state investigations.

And Ackman’s long and very public campaign against Herbalife, a company that he has called a pyramid scheme, has hammered investors in his hedge fund.

Shares of Herbalife are up 17 percent this year, and they’re up 42 percent since Ackman unleashed a withering attack and announced a short position against the company in late 2012.

Separate clashes broke out on the highways leading into the Greek capital. On its western highway, riot police fired tear gas to disperse farmers demanding to be allowed into the city with agricultural vehicles despite a government ban.

To the east, farmers used tractors to circumvent a police roadblock and block the main highway to Athens’ international airport. That left many travelers with planes to catch walking along the road, wheeling their suitcases behind them. The airport road re-opened after about 30 minutes.

In the city center, about 800 farmers from the island of Crete who arrived by overnight ferry rallied outside the agriculture ministry, throwing tomatoes. Tension escalated when police prevented them from accessing the building. Clashes soon broke out, with riot police using tear gas to repel the protesters, who were throwing rocks and setting dumpsters on fire.

At one point, an outnumbered riot police unit was forced to flee up a street, with farmers wielding staffs and pieces of wood in pursuit.

Many of the agriculture ministry’s windows were broken and rubble from rocks and broken paving stones lay strewn outside the building. Police said the farmers also threatened to spray them with a pesticide used for olive trees if the police used tear gas. At least four farmers were detained.

“These scenes were aimed at blackening the struggle of the farmers,” said Agriculture Minister Vangelis Apostolou. “For us, there is one path — that of dialogue to solve the problems of farmers. “

Farming associations have been blockading highways with tractors for more than two weeks, forcing traffic into lengthy diversions to protest a planned overhaul of the country’s troubled pension system. So far, farmers have refused talks with the government, insisting the pension reform plan must be repealed.

Bailout lenders are demanding that Greece scrap tax breaks for farmers and impose pension reforms that will lead to higher monthly contributions from the self-employed and salaried employees.

The protests against the pension changes have united a disparate group of professions, including lawyers, artists, accountants, engineers, doctors, dentists, seamen and casino workers.

Other farmers in buses, pickup trucks and cars from north and south were heading to Athens for the main rally, set for Friday afternoon in the city’s main Syntagma Square outside Parliament. Protesters have vowed an all-night sit-in and rally Saturday.

At issue is how food companies will deal with Vermont’s law. They could make separate food packages just for the state, label all their items with genetically modified ingredients or withdraw from the small Vermont market. The law kicks in by July, but the companies have to start making those decisions now.

The food industry wants Congress to pre-empt Vermont’s law and bar mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods before it goes into effect. They argue that GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are safe and a patchwork of state laws isn’t practical. Labeling advocates have been fighting state-by-state to enact the labeling, with the eventual goal of a national standard.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack brought the parties together twice this month to see if they could work out a compromise. But agreement won’t be easy, as the industry staunchly opposes mandatory labels. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are divided, too, but agree that a compromise needs to be worked out before this summer.

A look at the debate as the food industry and Congress wrestle with labeling of engineered foods:

———

WHAT’S A GMO, ANYWAY?

Genetically modified seeds are engineered in laboratories to have certain traits, like resistance to herbicides. The majority of the country’s corn and soybean crop is now genetically modified, with much of that going to animal feed. Corn and soybeans are also made into popular processed food ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch and soybean oil.

While there is little scientific concern about the safety of those GMOs on the market, advocates for labeling say not enough is known about their risks.

———

DUG IN

The food industry has been battling the labeling advocates for several years, spending millions to fight ballot initiatives and bills in state legislatures that would require labeling of genetically modified foods. They have also challenged Vermont’s law in court.

Industry-backed legislation that passed the House last year would have blocked any such state laws. But that bill has stalled in the Senate.

The Food and Drug Administration has said GMOs on the market now are safe, and the federal government does not support mandatory labels. But supporters of labeling counter that consumers have a right to know what’s in their foods, and say Congress shouldn’t be trying to pre-empt states.

So far, Vermont is the only state set to require labeling. Maine and Connecticut have passed similar laws, but those measures don’t take effect unless neighboring states follow suit.

———

NEW TALKS

Hours of talks with Vilsack haven’t produced compromise. The former Iowa governor hasn’t taken sides on the issue, but he has previously suggested some sort of digital labeling that consumers could access with their smart phones or in-store scanners.

The food industry has had similar ideas, introducing voluntary digital labels last year that could provide consumers with detailed information about products. Information could also be accessed by an online search.

Labeling advocates have frowned on digital labels, saying they discriminate against people who don’t have smart phones, computers or the know-how to use them.

“Consumers shouldn’t have to have a high-tech smartphone and a 10-gigabyte data plan to know what’s in their food,” said Scott Faber, head of the national Just Label It Campaign, after Vilsack spoke publicly about the idea early last year.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., says he wants to take up a bill soon, before Vermont’s law goes into effect. The panel’s top Democrat, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, and Republican Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota have been working to find bipartisan compromise.

“We’re not there yet,” Hoeven said earlier this month.

———

COMPANIES GO ON THEIR OWN

As Congress has stalled on the issue, some companies are already prepared to deal with the Vermont law.

Campbell Soup said earlier this month it now supports mandatory national labeling for products containing genetically modified ingredients, and that it will stop backing efforts opposing the disclosures.

The company said about three-quarters of its products contain GMOs, and released a mock-up of the label it would use to comply if Vermont’s law goes into effect. It says “Partially produced with genetic engineering” in small print at the bottom.

Campbell Soup CEO Denise Morrison has been outspoken about the need for big food makers to adapt to changing tastes.